I think more than a couple've people have been stuck in this situation before. When you're starting to feel aimless IC (particularly as a midbie who's sunk all those sweet sweet ue hours in and are now hooked), in lieu of "log off for a couple months" or "reroll", what's helped you regain your footing?
I've seen this thread concept once or twice, but (and because I think the game/its community have probably changed in the past 7-8 years) in lieu of necro-ing a mega old one, I wanted to pop my head in and see if anyone had some advice in terms of 'what do I do when I've lost sight of my #1 goal'?. This is a tad bit personal, and partially me fishing for advice under the guise of offering it, because I'm stuck in a similar slump - but there's also some stuff I wanted to type up and share that's personally helped me out've a rut before.
My Personal Advice (that has worked for me, and might not work for you, but why not list it anyways):
01. There's always room for a little bit of nonsense
This isn't me advocating for characters to go completely off the rails (though, hey, it might fit in with your development!), but moreso that not every goal/action for your character has to be a hundred-percent serious. Investing in silly, lower-stakes hijinks not only gives you a short-term goal in itself, but might open itself up to larger opportunities/possible goals along the way. If you decide to throw another character a surprise birthday party, maybe people start asking you to host more of them. If you organize a little small-stakes heist, maybe an NPC notices and asks to put you up to a bigger one. If you put up some guerilla art, maybe someone reaches out about a bigger mural.
People generally enjoy some silly nonsense and helping other characters out with said nonsense once in awhile. A heist on VS's towers might be a big ask for other characters to help out on, but sneaking into the Phallus Palace to try and swipe a sexy nurse's outfit? Much easier. Start with nonsense, and go from there.
02. Factions/NPCs are here to help you
Obviously, the majority of your RP's going to be with other PCs, but if you're really stuck somewhere, NPCs/GMs exist to give you a little nudge. Some of the best RP hooks I've gotten were from - hanging out in faction spaces where I really shouldn't have, picking an NPC and deciding my character will die for them without question, or just getting curious about that random NPC in some corner off've [x] street who hasn't appeared to move in 500 years. If you're interested in an NPC, faction, or a location (even if it looks unused/abandoned), I'd recommend leaving a note or puppet request and seeing what it could lead to - and, as a bonus, bring a friend along.
03. I KNOW IT'S SCARY but make a cold call (it works)
If you really need to look for direction, there are characters with the chyen and influence who are worth approaching for advice IC. It may seem intimidating, but longer-term characters, especially those in positions of power, influence, or infamy, are probably very used to this - and if they don't have hooks for you, they probably have someone they can point you to who does. A character's giving out loans? Ask about them. Someone leases a business? Ask about open positions for work, including positions that they aren't actively advertising for. Listen to that corpie try to recruit you to work for their great and glorious corporate overlords. Consider it, even.
If you're at midbie-level, you have already passed the most important barrier to entry for longer term characters to hire you or bring you under their wing, which is "you probably won't perm out in a month's time". When it comes to someone else/another PC investing in you or your character, nothing else matters quite as much as this.
